


Something to Remember Us By

by DegrassiFanatic



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28663329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DegrassiFanatic/pseuds/DegrassiFanatic
Summary: “France has always been a sore spot for me,” Emily reveals as she closes JJ’s hand, “My mom’s job forced us to move here. Doyle fell in love with Lauren Reynolds here. I was sent to live here, in an attempt to keep me alive.“I didn’t have good memories of France.” she admits, “Not until you sent that link to online Scrabble those first few weeks after my death and suddenly, France didn’t seem so lonely anymore.”
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Something to Remember Us By

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sassiest_politician](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassiest_politician/gifts).



> fun fact, jj and prentiss invented being in love

With this stupid blindfold around her eyes, JJ couldn’t see a single thing. It was itchy and annoying and it made her want to rip it off. She would have followed through with the desire, if it wasn’t for the fact that Emily would smack her in the head if she even so much as twitched her hand. 

She didn’t understand what the point of the blindfold was. It wasn’t like she would know where they were going even if she didn’t have it on. It wasn’t as if she roamed the streets of Paris on a daily basis. 

Nonetheless, Emily felt the need to buy a cheap tie to cover JJ’s eyes and lead her around a foreign country with a hand secure on her elbow. The only upside to her temporary blindness is that it forces Emily to be closer than usual. JJ can feel her chest against her back and how Emily’s free hand is a warm weight against her shoulder. 

“Step up.” Emily whispers into her ear.

Doing as she says, JJ can feel her feet hit a terrain different from the uneven cobblestone they had been walking on for what felt like forever. Her shoes clack against what she can only assume to be wood. She can hear the sound of loud English-speaking tourists, among a few Parisians mumbling to one another in French, both occasionally intercepted by the sound of water flowing.

Silently, Emily brings them to a slow pace before stopping completely. Within a second, she can feel fingers reach for the back of the blindfold and JJ can almost let out a sigh of relief as the irritating fabric is removed from her eyes.

It takes a few seconds of rapid blinking before her eyes get used to the sight of her surroundings. Looking up, she notices it’s not particularly great weather; the sky is completely hidden away by an array of grey clouds. There’s a chill in the air that is punctuated every few seconds by a breeze. 

Though the weather doesn’t matter too much once JJ realizes she’s standing on top of a bridge, overlooking what she believes to be the Seine River. Her feet move to their own accord and soon she’s leaning her whole body against the railing of the fencing, looking down at the water below her. 

She’s mesmerized by the few ripples she can spot in what seems to be unmoving water. If she looks hard enough, she can almost see the river flowing north. She tries to figure out the true colour of the river but it’s impossible in this weather; the dark skies only reflect onto the water. 

Still, it’s a sight to behold. 

JJ can feel a body slot up behind her. A chin rests on top of her left shoulder as arms circle around her waist. 

“Do you know where we are?” Emily asks softly, her breath tickling the shell of JJ’s ear.

“The Seine?”

“Well, yes, but technically, we’re on the Ponts des Arts bridge.” she informs.

The name of the bridge sounds familiar but JJ cannot pinpoint why. In lieu of figuring it out, she sinks back into Emily’s hold as she gazes out at the water. 

“There used to be a tradition of placing a lock in the chain links.” Emily continues on, “Couples would write their names on locks and then throw the key in the river; to represent their committed love.”

Now, JJ remembers why the name is so familiar. She remembers hearing on the news how one of the parapets of the bridge had collapsed due to the weight of all of the padlocks. Soon after, city workers were ordered to cut off all the padlocks and the practice had become outlawed. 

“Isn’t it illegal to do that now?”

Instead of getting an answer, all JJ receives is silence and immediately she knows Emily is up to something. 

Before she can say anything, Emily pushes her body further into the railing. An arm falls away from her stomach and she can feel Emily digging around her pockets. 

Once the rustling around comes to a stop, Emily brings her hand up to JJ’s face and reveals a small padlock with the initials E and J clumsily etched onto the metal. 

Without any more preemptive, Emily takes a quick glance around them before lowering her hand to tack the tiny lock onto a chain link. The sound of the lock clicking closed is almost unheard over the people strolling across the bridge. 

Emily’s hands trail up to where JJ’s are resting on the railing. One by one, she pries JJ’s fingers off before turning her hand over to press a tiny key into her palm. 

“France has always been a sore spot for me,” Emily reveals as she closes JJ’s hand, “My mom’s job forced us to move here. Doyle fell in love with Lauren Reynolds here. I was sent to live here, in an attempt to keep me alive.

“I didn’t have good memories of France.” she admits, “Not until you sent that link to online Scrabble those first few weeks after my death and suddenly, France didn’t seem so lonely anymore.”

JJ turns her head as much as she can with Emily bracketing her body. Their noses brush together as JJ brings her fingers to just below Emily’s jaw. 

“Emily…” she whispers, almost into her mouth. 

“And I want to thank you for that.” Emily explains, “I want you to have something good to remember when you think of France.”

From how close they’re faces are, all of Emily’s features look distorted but JJ swears she can see water shining in her eyes. The way the tears remain still reminds her of the unmovingess of the Seine. 

Still staring at her, Emily rotates JJ’s fist until the fingers are facing the water. 

“I love you.” she murmurs softly as her free hand brushes a strand of hair behind JJ’s ear. 

Soon, JJ’s fingers ease up around the key and she hears it drop into the water with an almost inaudible splash. 

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> this was a drabble requested on tumblr by sassiest_politician, you people should learn from them, they have courage to actually send asks, be like them, send me asks on tumblr at Degrassi-Fanatic you cowards.


End file.
